Colonel Sir Robert "Bobby" Christie Stewart KCVO

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

TD (1926 – 25 September 2019) was a Scottish landowner who had a military career in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and was a

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

of two counties in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. He was generally referred to in the community as R. C. Stewart.

Early life

The grave of John Christie in Muckhart churchyard

Stewart was born on 3 August 1926. He was the son of Major Alexander Caldwell Stewart and Florence Hamilton Lighton. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

, where he read ''

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and

Forest Science Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

''.

Career

Stewart served in the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

. He was awarded the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the Te ...

(TD). He was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE). He was appointed

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

(KCVO). He then returned to his family estate at Arndean near

Blairingone Blairingone is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies on the A977 road at its intersection with Vicar's Bridge Road near the extreme south-westerly point of the region, approximately southeast of Dollar, Clackmannanshire, Dollar. Th ...

. Stewart held the office of

Lord Lieutenant of Kinross-shire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Kinross-shire: *George Graham 17 March 1794 – 18 December 1801 * William Adam 30 January 1802 – 17 February 1839 * Sir Charles Adam 28 March 1839 – 16 September 1853 ...

between 1966 and 1974. Later, he was

Lord Lieutenant of Clackmannanshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Clackmannanshire. The official title of the office has varied over time as follows: :His or Her Majesty's Lieutenant in the County of Clackmannan 1794–1975 :Lord-Lieutenant in t ...

during 1995–2001.

Personal life

Stewart lived most of his life at the family home of Arndean, south of Dollar. He inherited the Cowden estate (between Dollar and

Muckhart Muckhart ( gd, Muc-Àird) commonly refers to two small villages in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, Pool of Muckhart ( gd, Poll Mhuc-Àird) and Yetts o' Muckhart. Muckhart is one of the Hillfoots Villages, situated on the A91 around northeast of ...

) from his aunt Alice Christie in the 1950s. Upon the death of his uncle, Captain John Christie Stewart, in 1978, Stewart inherited the estate of Murdostoun, in Lanarkshire, which was sold a year later. Stewart married Ann Grizel Cochrane, daughter of Air Chief Marshal Hon. Sir Ralph Alexander Cochrane and Hilda Frances Holme Wiggin, on 21 May 1953. They had two children together.

Death

Stewart died on 25 September 2019, aged 93. He is buried in the Christie plot on the east side of

church.

References

1926 births 2019 deaths 20th-century British Army personnel 20th-century Scottish businesspeople 20th-century Scottish landowners Alumni of University College, Oxford Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Lord-Lieutenants of Clackmannanshire Lord-Lieutenants of Kinross-shire People educated at Eton College Scots Guards officers {{UK-bio-stub